Shou Zi Chew faced intense questioning during his first appearance before the US Congress in March 2023. For more than five hours, Chew responded to concerns about the security of US users' data and TikTok's ties to China.
The hearing began with a direct request to ban the app in the United States from House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers . Lawmakers expressed skepticism about TikTok’s ability to protect data and prevent interference from the Chinese government.
Chew highlighted TikTok’s independence from China, noting that the company does not operate in mainland China and has headquarters in Los Angeles and Singapore, with thousands of employees in the US. He also acknowledged concerns about unwanted access to US data and manipulation of TikTok’s ecosystem, saying the company takes these concerns seriously and has taken steps to address them.
Lawmakers continued to question Chew about the bahamas number data possibility of Chinese government access to user data and TikTok’s impact on national security and the mental health of minors. Although Chew defended TikTok’s practices and emphasized its transparency, he faced persistent criticism and comparisons to Mark Zuckerberg for his responses.
"We are committed to being very transparent with our users about what we collect. I don't think what we collect is more than most players in the industry ," Chew said.
However, things have not changed much since then, as the United States is still considering removing TikTok from the mobile app offering in its country unless it is bought by an American company.
Even the CEO himself issued a video statement in which he expressed his "disappointment" at the same time that TikTok was fighting to defend the rights of American users, from whom he sought support to prevent one of the most famous social networks in the world from having to leave the leading economic power.